$2 billion marina development aims to turn Fort Lauderdale into 'mini Monaco'

A team of developers including Related Group is launching a $2 billion development at the largest marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, aiming to create a “mini Monaco,” according to executives.

The new development at the Bahia Mar marina will include a hotel and condo towers, along with a beach club, restaurants and retail space, according to the plans.

“Fort Lauderdale — and South Florida in general — has been waiting for a true destination that has a Monaco-like feel,” said Nick Perez, president of the condominium division for Related Group. “We have the deep water marina, we have the restaurants, but we don’t have this five-star resort that encompasses everything. So this is kind of what the market has been missing.”

Miami-based Related Group, controlled by billionaire Jorge Perez, is teaming up with Tate Capital and Rok Acquisitions on the project. The development will span nearly 40 acres of land and water, with multiple condo towers and a St. Regis hotel with about 200 guest rooms, according to the plans. The hotel will replace the existing DoubleTree hotel on the site.

The development caps years of failed efforts to redevelop Bahia Mar, a sprawling yacht marina that has helped make Fort Lauderdale the yacht capital of the U.S. The Bahia Mar is also host to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the nation’s largest yacht show, which starts Wednesday.

The Bahia Mar land is owned by the city of Fort Lauderdale and leased to an entity led by developer Jimmy Tate and his family. Plans by the Tates and Rok Acquisitions to develop the property were stalled for years by Fort Lauderdale residents and local officials, who opposed the large scale of the project. The new plan called for scaled-down buildings and more public amenities.

Along with the condo towers and hotel, the plan calls for 88,000 square feet of waterfront commercial space, with restaurants, boat docking, a public park along the Intracoastal and a 25-foot-wide pedestrian promenade. The marina will have slips for yachts up to 350 feet.

Perez said since 65% of the visitors to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show are from overseas, mainly Europe and Latin America, the development will draw from a global clientele of yacht owners and boating enthusiasts.

“There is no facility in South Florida where you can have a residential unit, have a hotel, amazing food and beverage and your mega yacht or regular yacht, whatever kind of boat you own, literally in your backyard,” he said.

The project is scheduled to open sometime in late 2029. Douglas Elliman will be marketing the residences, which will start at $4.4 million for the condos.